This weekend was by far my favorite weekend here as of yet.
It all started on Thursday, when Natalie, Paige, and I picked up our rental car, and headed to Turangi, which is about 4.5 hours from Wellington. I was the driver, and was quite nervous to be driving on the left side of the road! Most nerve-racking were the roundabouts, and the city driving. Once we were on the highway it was ok. It is however, very easy to get distracted by the gorgeous scenery!
It unfortunately rained for about 80% of the drive, and driving in rain is no fun. It seemed to be truck night, as I got stuck behind quite a few massive semi's which were intimidating to pass. It got dark pretty quick, so I really had no idea what kind of countryside I was passing through. We arrived to our hostel a little past 11pm and quickly crashed in our bunk beds, with the plan to get up at 730 to drive to our starting point!
At 815 our hostel owner was giving us directions/hints to the trek. He suggested that we drive to the Mangatepopo car park and start the hike from there, which is where most people finish. We liked this idea as it was a shorter drive (it's $2.16 per litre, which is about $8 per gallon!), and the weather was better there to begin with. So off we went, with numbers to call for shuttles to pick us up at the other end to bring us back to our car!
We started first through native forest, and were accompanied by this rather rapid noisy stream. Birds were calling, and it was great to breath fresh non-city air. About an hour in we broke through the trees and got an amazing view of the valley below. At this point we could really feel the wind pick up, as we had previously been sheltered by the trees.
We continued on up, for another 3 km to the hut, through tussock grass and a great trail. This was probably the hardest part of the trip. We could see the hut from a while away, and it seemed to take forever to get there. The wind was intense, but the view was well worth it all. Note- wearing cotton base layers is not good!.
The hut provided a brief break from the wind and a chance to break into my first PBJ of the day! Some chocolate covered peanuts rounded out the snack and I was raring to go on to the Emerald Lakes!
The next bit was great. We started to see people coming from the other end, and got the chance to talk to them about the conditions ahead. Some nice Americans said it was quite windy, but not so much so that we would be blown off the mountain. Good to know!! Some women wished us luck- that's always encouraging to hear. The clouds started to move in and we got into this misty/magical scene as we continued on up the side of Mt. Tongariro. Other trampers would appear seemingly out of the mist which was quite cool. At some point, the mist got so thick that we couldn't really see what was ahead- thank goodness for the sign posts! After walking for a bit and wondering what was on either side of us, the clouds cleared briefly and sure enough, Blue Lake was to our left! It was crazy how it appeared out of nowhere.
From here, we descended into Central Crater which had some awesome volcanic rocks. The slope slowly increased and we climbed up through the mist. Again, appearing out of nowhere, one of the Emerald Lakes came into view with a backdrop of some awesome cliffs!
As we kept on climbing, it got more stunning. We reached the 2 other lakes and had a chance to get lunch by one of them. It was still crazy windy and we didn't want to stop for long and get chilled.
The next bit after lunch was quite steep. Walking up a 40 degree incline on quite slippery volcanic soil is quite intense. I kept looking back to see the lakes and it was well worth it. At the top, at 1886m above sea level, were were officially on top of Red Crater. It was here that the wind was most intense and we had a narrow ridge to cross, with heart-clenching drops on either side. We all linked arms and headed on across and down. The clouds were still moving in and out and visibility was not the best. As we started down Devil's Staircase, which was quite slippery due to the mist and rocks, the wind was thankfully at our fronts, and not "helping" us down the slope.
Ater a bit we reached South Crater. It was like walking on the moon. Remote, flat, sparse, with lots of rocks and some tussock grass. It was eerie and awesome at the same time! At this point it started raining, which wasn't a surprise, as the weather report had warned us so. A small incline to get out o the crater, before descending into more volcanic terrain. I've never seen anything like it and had just the most wonderful feeling seeing all these new sights.
The saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe was amazing. The contrast between the black vocalic rock and the vegetation was fantastic. Hard and soft at the same time. The black rocks were from the 1075 pyroclastic low rom Ngauruhoe and it was cool walking on history. Mangatepopo valley was stunning. Green contrasted with black and red rocks, and the hardy white flowers that were blooming.
Soda Springs was a gorgeous waterfall that look alike paradise. It ed into the stream that we allowed or the rest o the trek to the Mangatepopo car park. We didn't end up stopping at the hut due to time constraints, so we continued to book it down, with hopes to catch the bus that , according to our hostel host, would take us back to our car, but it was not to be so. We made it in time but no bus showed up. Long story short, and $30 per person later, we had been picked up by a bus and shuttled back to our car. Tired, wet, and hungry, I absolutely felt that I could conquer anything. A tramp that beats all tramps, this is one that i want to do at least one more time, as it would be a completely different experience which is so exciting. I'm proud that we made it in 7 hours, going the 'hard way'. New Zealand continues to amaze me. And honestly, a hot shower has never felt so good!
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